In 1977, Pauli Murray became the first African-American woman to be ordained as an Episcopal priest. She was elevated to be an Episcopal saint in 2012. “LGBTQ Perspectives on Equality,” explores her life as a member of the LGBTQ community.

As the Levine Museum of the New South, seeks to tell the story of and explore the constant evolution of the South since the Civil War, a new chapter is unfolding in Charlotte and the surrounding Piedmont area.

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, more than 2,000 same-sex couples now call the Charlotte region home and over 18,000 same-sex couples live in North Carolina.

With the purpose of providing visitors with an opportunity to deepen their knowledge and understanding of this growing community, the museum is opening a new exhibition, “LGBTQ Perspectives on Equality,” to the public July 25.

The first of its kind in the Charlotte area, the exhibit will feature four installments that delve into LGBTQ history and the people responsible for bringing LGBTQ issues to the forefront.

“LGBTQ activists have long looked to the Civil Rights Movement as a model in the campaign for equality,” said Levine Museum President Emily Zimmem. “As Levine Museum continues its two-year exhibit and program series ‘Destination Freedom: Civil Rights Struggles Then and Now,’ the museum will present a new suite of exhibits and programs that examine LGBTQ history and the struggle for equality that continues today.”

“LGBTQ Perspectives on Equality” takes a look at the history and struggles at national, regional, local and personal levels.

“These exhibits break new ground in our region as they document and preserve a chapter of Charlotte’s history not previously told,” said PNC Bank Executive VP Matt Springman, who is a museum board member. “The museum has featured men, women, children, black and white, rich and poor, longtime residents and newcomers who have shaped the South since the Civil War. Part of this history includes LGBTQ people, their struggles, and they’ve shaped cities across the United States.”

Exhibits include:

“Out of the Shadows: Gay America from Kinsey to Stonewall” tells the story of how the country sought to define what it meant to be gay and lesbian in a post-World War II America, before the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City.

“Pauli Murray: Imp, Crusader, Priest, Dude” shares Murray’s life story as a member of the LGBTQ community, including her ambitions, accomplishments and struggles as a writer, lawyer, feminist, professor, poet and first African-American female Episcopal priest.

“Publicly Identified: Coming Out Activist in the Queen City” shows a timeline of Charlotte’s LGBTQ history curated by UNC Charlotte assistant director for sexual and gender diversity, Joshua Burford, and featuring selections from the J. Murrey Atkins Special Collections at UNC Charlotte.

“Minding the Ts and Qs: Gender Identity” features area artists exploring interpretations of gender identity through visual cues and use of space.

Community listening sessions, in conjunction with the museum’s board of directors and Carolina Actors Studio Theatre’s Angels in America production, were held earlier this year to get feedback on how to make “LGBTQ Perspectives on Equality” educational, engaging and beneficial to visitors.

Levine Museum also worked in partnership with Greensboro’s Elsewhere Museum and CMS educator Elizabeth Rummage to develop and incorporate interactive exercises into the exhibits.

The exhibit was sponsored by PNC Bank, the Charlotte Lesbian and Gay Fund and the Arts & Science Council.